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Thanks for all of the replies. I thought that I was subscribed and would, therefore, get a notification when there were replies but apparently not.

SCI-Nurse: Thanks, I definitely know that there is no one best cushion. Everyone is different. In the past, I have pressure mapped better on cushions that other did not. I know that pressure mapping is also only one tool to be used in the overall choice. Anyway, I was just looking for some experiences/feedback before embarking on the search.

Thanks everyone else too. Sounds like no horror stories from this group. I have never tried any of the supracor but, clearly, there are some fans.

I did try the J X2 for a couple of days. It seemed fine. but I did not like it as much when I scooted my butt to the front prior to transfers. With the soft foam, I felt a lot less stable. I assume that I would get used to it though.

As fate would have it, my Jay 3 has sprung a leak. I think that the outer seam in the front came apart. So, things have taken on some urgency and I probably won't be able to test much more before needing to get something.

Yep, I keep a couple around too. Awesome cushion for me, although I have issues cathing while on one, especially the Contour XS, with its medial hump, compressing my taint a lot. 1 out of 3 attempts won't insert far enough, and come out bloody. Not cool.

Hey Oddity: do you scoot your butt forward on your cushion before cathing? I have found that if I do that, it allows me to lean back, opens the area up for ease of cathing, and seems to allow the catheter to find its way to the bladder better for me. Seems to me that if you are having the catheter stopping and coming out bloody, you may be creating a false passage. You don't want that. Anyway, moving my butt forward has always made cathing easier both from the outside and inside

The best is to get a cushion evaluation done with computerized interface pressure testing on a variety of cushions. There is no one "best" cushion for everyone...if there were, there wouldn't be so many different ones on the market.

(KLD)

Never having done it, because, you know, Hawaii, could someone please explain what is done in a "cushion evaluation done with computerized interface pressure testing on a variety of cushions". How can this be comprehensive? How can it account for all of the available cushions and in your specific size needs? Do the testing facilities have thousands of cushions to test? How can it account for the variables of how you can set up your wheelchair (dump, etc)? Perhaps one cushion is best in one setup, but a different one would be even better in a different setup. How could it possibly test an adjustable cushion like the Vicairs, where there are thousands of possibilities? And how can it take into account time? For example, I have been pushed cushions by my DME 3 different times that have all seemed really good for 15 minutes of seating (I have some sensation). But they all have failed, after purchase, for extended seating times. And, what about positioning? One cushion might be great for pressure but terrible for positioning. Speaking of which, my position changes on my cushion all the time. I am never sitting the same way or in and ideal posture. How can mapping account for this?

Never having done it, because, you know, Hawaii, could someone please explain what is done in a "cushion evaluation done with computerized interface pressure testing on a variety of cushions". How can this be comprehensive? How can it account for all of the available cushions and in your specific size needs? Do the testing facilities have thousands of cushions to test? How can it account for the variables of how you can set up your wheelchair (dump, etc)? Perhaps one cushion is best in one setup, but a different one would be even better in a different setup. How could it possibly test an adjustable cushion like the Vicairs, where there are thousands of possibilities? And how can it take into account time? For example, I have been pushed cushions by my DME 3 different times that have all seemed really good for 15 minutes of seating (I have some sensation). But they all have failed, after purchase, for extended seating times. And, what about positioning? One cushion might be great for pressure but terrible for positioning. Speaking of which, my position changes on my cushion all the time. I am never sitting the same way or in and ideal posture. How can mapping account for this?

I have an SCI and work in an SCI facility but I am not a clinician. Still, I can tell you the pressure mapping is only one part of the "comprehensive" evaluation. You can sit on several cushions and see how they do with the pressure mapping. This is where a thin fabric layer is placed on top of your cushion. It has sensor in it that display different colors on a computer screen based on how much pressure you are putting on the areas. Butt bones (ischial) will generally be more presser than say your thigh.

With a sense of which cushion looks better via mapping, you can then look a stability, positioning, etc. etc. No one "tool" tells you everything. But with pressure mapping, sitting on a number of cushions, testing you positioning, etc. etc., you can make an educated decision.

That being said, I am lazy. So, I have not actually done pressure mapping since I got a Jay 2 15 years ago. The Jay 3 seemed like an equivalent cushion so without any issues, I just went with it.

Hey Oddity: do you scoot your butt forward on your cushion before cathing? I have found that if I do that, it allows me to lean back, opens the area up for ease of cathing, and seems to allow the catheter to find its way to the bladder better for me. Seems to me that if you are having the catheter stopping and coming out bloody, you may be creating a false passage. You don't want that. Anyway, moving my butt forward has always made cathing easier both from the outside and inside

I scoot out to the edge of my chair to cath. If I am down in the bucket bladder does not drain fully. Also as you mention it does seem to open up area and make for easy passage,imo.

Hey Oddity: do you scoot your butt forward on your cushion before cathing? I have found that if I do that, it allows me to lean back, opens the area up for ease of cathing, and seems to allow the catheter to find its way to the bladder better for me. Seems to me that if you are having the catheter stopping and coming out bloody, you may be creating a false passage. You don't want that. Anyway, moving my butt forward has always made cathing easier both from the outside and inside

Yep, I do scooch forward and sometimes lean back. That creates a lot of sheer force on my ischials and sacrum but does help the cath pass.

A Buddhist monk walked up to the guy working behind a hot dog cart and said, "Make me one with everything."

"Even what those with the greatest reputation for knowing it all claim to understand and defend are but opinions..." -Heraclitus

I have an SCI and work in an SCI facility but I am not a clinician. Still, I can tell you the pressure mapping is only one part of the "comprehensive" evaluation. You can sit on several cushions and see how they do with the pressure mapping. This is where a thin fabric layer is placed on top of your cushion. It has sensor in it that display different colors on a computer screen based on how much pressure you are putting on the areas. Butt bones (ischial) will generally be more presser than say your thigh.

With a sense of which cushion looks better via mapping, you can then look a stability, positioning, etc. etc. No one "tool" tells you everything. But with pressure mapping, sitting on a number of cushions, testing you positioning, etc. etc., you can make an educated decision.

That being said, I am lazy. So, I have not actually done pressure mapping since I got a Jay 2 15 years ago. The Jay 3 seemed like an equivalent cushion so without any issues, I just went with it.

Hope that this answers your question just a bit.

It just seems like you can't possibly try enough circumstances with mapping, especially for someone who has difficulty transferring. In a given time frame of an hour, or so, you could test maybe 4-5 cushions, and perhaps not the correct size. And each of those tests are of very specific circumstances. Even slight changes in those circumstances could have completely changed the map. For instance one cushion might look like a poor map, but just one more degree of dump and the cushion might be great. But the user won't know because that circumstance isn't being tested. I realize there is no perfect testing, if we don't have extensive tests with access to all the available cushions. But, it seems to me that mapping is being oversold; it is giving you very limited data that appears to be (since its result seem to scientific) far more definitive than it can claim. Mapping seems to give people the false belief that they have the best cushion. At best, to me, it appears that mapping might be able to rule out some poor choices. If this is the case, I think we should be presenting it this way on this forum.